Leukemia and the Nervous System:
To first understand how Leukemia affects the central nervous system, we have to know what the central nervous system is.
The Nervous system: The nervous system in essence is the command system of the body. It consists of neuron tissues that form the nervous system.
The central nervous system: The central nervous system consists of majority of nervous system which includes the spinal cord and the brain. (1)
Leukemia, which is the cancer of blood cells, can reach its way to the central nervous system which mainly consists of the brain. When Leukemia reaches the brain, the patient can have seizures, problems with vision, problems with balance and headaches. There is a way that doctors can check if Leukemia has reached the central nervous system. What they do is they take fluid from your spinal cord which can tell if Leukemia has reached the spinal cord or not. To prevent Leukemia reaching the central nervous system, patients can take a type of chemotherapy called intrathecal chemotherapy. (2,3)
Souces Used:
(1)http://biology.about.com/od/organsystems/ss/central-nervous-system.htm
(2)http://www.metrohealth.org/body.cfm?id=1634
(3)http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Leukemia.aspx
To first understand how Leukemia affects the central nervous system, we have to know what the central nervous system is.
The Nervous system: The nervous system in essence is the command system of the body. It consists of neuron tissues that form the nervous system.
The central nervous system: The central nervous system consists of majority of nervous system which includes the spinal cord and the brain. (1)
Leukemia, which is the cancer of blood cells, can reach its way to the central nervous system which mainly consists of the brain. When Leukemia reaches the brain, the patient can have seizures, problems with vision, problems with balance and headaches. There is a way that doctors can check if Leukemia has reached the central nervous system. What they do is they take fluid from your spinal cord which can tell if Leukemia has reached the spinal cord or not. To prevent Leukemia reaching the central nervous system, patients can take a type of chemotherapy called intrathecal chemotherapy. (2,3)
Souces Used:
(1)http://biology.about.com/od/organsystems/ss/central-nervous-system.htm
(2)http://www.metrohealth.org/body.cfm?id=1634
(3)http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Leukemia.aspx